Raindrops
by nici-kitty
Summary: Jaden Korr can walk between raindrops. Rosh Penin prefers jumping in puddles. Opposites attract - what if Rosh had gone with Jaden on the preliminary missions? How much closer would they have been, and how much more would Rosh's betrayal hurt?


**I wrote this a while ago. I'm mainly posting for the sake of posting something XP Male Jaden, I stole some of the dialogue from the game. Sorry for any inaccuracies, it's been a while since I played.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own JKJA.**

**CHAPTER ONE  
**

* * *

**Yavin IV – Jedi Academy: Training Grounds**

Jaden Korr was ticked off, to put it mildly. He'd rolled under the stupid, fast-descending door just a fraction of a second too late, and now his back was scraped and stinging. His knees were grazed from falling off the top of the doorframe while trying to get out of the red chamber, and his head was spinning from running too fast. No one'd mentioned anything about Force Speed making you dizzy.

In a less than hale mood, he ran through the next door and towards the steps, where he could see Master Katarn – no, _Kyle_ – standing, waiting. Rosh dashed through another door on the opposite side of the courtyard and reached Kyle just before Jaden.

"So, did I win?" Rosh asked lightly, not seeming to notice Jaden's death glares. Kyle turned to Rosh and said calmly, "It wasn't a competition."

Rosh's expression plummeted, and he flushed red, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry... I-"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Kyle said pointedly. Jaden stepped forward, glowering at Rosh. "It's no big deal. You said yourself it wasn't a competition."

"Hey, it was just a joke!" Rosh protested, clearly flustered. He was bent backwards slightly, trying to retain some personal space. "I didn't think it would-"

"If that droid had been set to Luke's training regiment, it would have killed Jaden!" Kyle interrupted. "What were you thinking?"

"Jaden, I'm so sorry." Rosh shook his head in an almost disbelieving manner. "I can't believe I...I mean I wasn't trying to-"

"Save it Rosh." he'd turned away, arms folded tightly across his chest. To his horror, he realized he was trembling – again. It was a nervous habit that seemed to crop up at the most unexpected, inconvenient times.

"Jaden, you have a right to be angry." Kyle said. "But believe me when I say you don't want to feed that emotion."

Kyle had a point, but he sounded chastising. Wasn't he meant to be lecturing _Rosh_, not him? Nevertheless, Jaden turned back around and walked back over. "I understand, Master Katarn. Apology accepted, Rosh." The other boy looked relieved.

"Good, that's settled. And remember, it's Kyle."

"Yes Mas-" Jaden cut himself off, shaking his head. "I mean-"

"Sure thing Kyle!" Rosh chirped.

"You both did well in your training today." Kyle said approvingly. "Let's see how you kids do in the real world."

"Wow. We're going on missions already? But we only trained for about an hour!" Rosh said incredulously.

Kyle blinked. "Of course you'll continue your training for a while. Plus there's all the theory classes. I'm just saying you did exceptionally well for your first day. Run along now."

* * *

**Yavin IV – Jedi Academy: Dormitories**

Whoever decided that cold showers would improve discipline was an idiot. It just made the students annoyed. After running through the rain in the training grounds all day, the last thing anyone wanted was a cold shower.

Muttering to himself, Jaden marched out of the shower block, sat on his bed and threw his towel at the towel rack. He missed. Muttering even more, and too lazy to get up, he used the Force to hang it up.

"So, how was your first day?" came an irritatingly cheerful voice from the doorway. Jaden turned to see another of the human students coming in.

"Uhh, it was alright." he said. "How was yours? Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Garth Onasi." the guy said, coming in and sitting down next to Jaden, who huffed a little – what sort of person just comes and sits on someone else's bed without asking them first? "You're Jaden Korr, right? With Master Katarn?"

"Yes. And he makes us call him 'Kyle'." Jaden said. "Who are you with?"

"Master Horn." Garth said.

Jaden frowned. "I thought Raltharan was with Master Horn."

"And I thought Rosh was with Master Katarn. Two students to one Master, remember?" Garth pointed out. "We all did the same training course, though. Did you get across the bridge on your first jump?"

"Umm. No." Jaden admitted. "Did you?"

"Nope." Garth said. "I got incredibly wet and cold, and that just made me more ticked off when I realized that we had to take _cold _showers. Like I didn't get enough cold water already."

Jaden beamed, pleased that someone shared his opinion.

"What about the red room?" Garth asked. "Using Force Sense gave me a splitting headache...it...yeah, it was pretty awful."

"I was fine. But Force Speed made me feel dizzy." Jaden said. "And _Rosh_ decided it would be a lovely idea to set some training robot on me."

"What?"

"Yep. My fellow student decided to kill me on the first day." Jaden said sourly.

"Heyyy! I apologized!" Rosh said loudly from the doorway. Both boys turned to see him coming in, vigorously towel drying his hair. "And you accepted my apology!"

"So? I'm still annoyed." Jaden huffed, lying back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Water was dripping down from a crack and making a rapidly growing puddle on the floor. "Wouldn't you be annoyed if I had done that to you?"

"Saying sorry can fix all the world's problems." Garth said wisely. Rosh hung up his towel and came to sit with them. Jaden scowled – why was everyone sitting on _his_ bed? Was there something wrong with their own beds?

"Are you alright? You're shaking." Rosh said.

Jaden blinked and sat up again. "Ehh. It happens sometimes. Maybe I should see a medic about it. Plus, it's _freezing_. Can't they insulate the dormitories or something?"

They all muttered about the cold showers for a few minutes.

"So..." Garth said. "What's Master Katarn like?"

"_Kyle_ likes to make witty comments." Rosh said. "He's alright. What about Master Horn?"

"He's alright as well." Garth said slowly. "Well, I don't really know yet, since it's just been the first day. Hey, didn't you two get stuck out in the jungle yesterday?"

"Uh huh." Jaden said.

"And didn't you fight a Dark Jedi?" Garth asked, eyes wide.

"Uh huh." Jaden said again.

Garth blinked, nodded, and grinned. "Wow. You must be way ahead of us in your training, then!"

"Um, no. Not really." Jaden said.

Garth shrugged and got off. "Well, I'm off to find Raltharan. And maybe get something to eat. See you two around..." and with that, he left.

Jaden brushed down the part of the bed where Garth had been sitting. Rosh stared at him. "So. Jaden. Hi."

"Hello." Jaden said, adjusting the pillows and leaning back against them.

There was a moment of incredibly awkward silence. Rosh rubbed at the back of his neck. Jaden watched the puddle spread and start to dribble through a crack in the floorboards.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Rosh blurted out suddenly, making Jaden jump. "Geez, what else do you want me to do? Get down on my knees and plead for forgiveness or something? It was a stupid thing, and I'm not gonna do it again, if that's what you're worried about. Hmmmph." Rosh then folded his arms and sat there glaring.

"Well, fine. I already said, I accept your apology." Jaden snapped, folding his arms to mirror Rosh's.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They glared at one another.

It is a well known fact that, unless you have extreme self control, you cannot silently look someone in the eye for more than a few moments without starting to laugh. Rosh cracked first, gave a loud and highly undignified snort, and then guffawed loudly. Jaden's mouth twitched, then he laughed as well.

Kyle poked his head around the doorway. "Good to see you two getting along. Maybe you should come to the mess hall now, because Garth is devouring the Nerf burgers at a terrifying rate."

* * *

**Yavin IV- Jedi Academy: Training Grounds**

"Hmm. I think that's your fastest time yet." Kyle mused as Rosh and Jaden skidded to a stop before him. "And you're both dry this time. I guess you've mastered the Force Jump."

Rosh grinned, clearly incredibly pleased with his success. "Do we get a warm shower, then?"

"No. Of course not." Kyle said. "But... I think you're ready to go on your first mission."

"OH, YEAH!" Rosh yelled loudly, shocking the other two for a second. "Did you hear that, Jaden?"

"Yes, I heard." Jaden said in a rather more controlled manner.

Kyle smirked and waited for Rosh to calm down a little. "You would have heard Luke telling us all about rumors of the 'Cult of Ragnos' and 'The Remnant'?"

"Yeah." Rosh said.

"You'll be going to Mos Eisley, and checking for traces that either of those have been there."

"Are you coming?" Jaden asked.

Kyle nodded. "This one sounds like it could be nasty, so I'll be going with you. Mos Eisley is home to some of the galaxy's worst lowlifes. Be prepared to leave tomorrow morning." he strode off.

Rosh grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Our first mission, Jaden! Aren't you excited?"

"Yes." Jaden said.

"Wow. You really don't seem excited." Rosh cocked his head and stared at Jaden.

"Well...I'm not about to bounce around yelling 'whoopee' or something. Besides...it's Tatooine. We're not exactly going somewhere really exciting." Jaden pointed out.

"You're such a killjoy." Rosh said. "This is our _first mission_!"

"I had gathered that."

"Bah!" Rosh said, and gave Jaden a hug.

"Umm." Jaden blinked and rather awkwardly patted Rosh's back. "Yes. I know you're excited. Why don't we go and celebrate with a cold shower?"

"Yeah. Killjoy." Rosh said, and patted Jaden on the head before running off in the direction of the shower block.

Jaden stood for a moment, then straightened his tunic and followed more slowly.

* * *

**Tatooine- Mos Eisley: Cantina**

"Well I'll be. The Millenium Falcon." Kyle mused aloud as they entered the docking bay outside Mos Eisley's main cantina. "Han! Chewie! Anyone home? Hmm, I guess they're out."

"This is unreal." Rosh muttered in Jaden's ear.

"It's a parking lot, Rosh."

"I know, but...we're on a mission!" Rosh bounced up towards Kyle, leaving Jaden trailing behind. "So...Kyle! What do we do first?"

"I'm going to meet up with a few contacts in the cantina." Kyle said. "You two can stand guard – don't let anyone come out."

"Why not?" Jaden asked.

"If some of the people I'm looking for see me coming, they may try to do a runner." Kyle said grimly. "We don't want that. I need to question a few people very carefully."

Jaden blinked – Kyle hadn't taught them to mind-influence or memory-rub yet. He wasn't sure whether he should be looking forward to learning it or not – it seemed like a gross invasion of privacy.

"What do we do if someone tries to leave?" Rosh asked. "Attack them, or something?"

"Push them back inside." Kyle said mildly. "I'm sure you can think of something."

And with that, he went inside, leaving the two boys standing outside the door. Jaden glanced at Rosh and leaned against the wall. "So..."

"Hey." Rosh looked around. "Do you think we should follow him in?"

"He told us to wait outside."

"Yeah, but...I dunno." Rosh slumped against the wall next to Jaden, who blinked and shifted a bit further away. _I wish he'd respect my personal space_.

"You really don't talk much, you know?" Rosh said suddenly. "Are you just shy, or do you not like the rest of us?"

"No, I think you and Garth just talk an excessive amount." Jaden said. _What does he mean, I don't talk much? I talk a lot! ...I think._

"See? You're just...standing there not saying anything!" Rosh said. "Am I annoying you?"

"Yeah. Kind of." Jaden said, inching away a bit more – Rosh seemed to be advancing on him. "Does it bother you that I'm not talking?"

"Well... it's a bit weird if I talk all the time and you just stand there saying nothing." Rosh commented. "Tell me about yourself. Where do you come from?"

"I was born on Coruscant." Jaden said.

"Same. How old are you?"

"Um, seventeen?" Jaden said cautiously. "What is this, twenty questions?"

"Nah, just trying to figure out more about you." Rosh said. "I think-"

Before Jaden could hear what Rosh thought, the cantina door flew open and both boys jumped forward, lightsabers activated. A huge Wookie emerged, along with a flurry of blaster bolts. He raised his crossbow and fired back inside the cantina just before the door slammed shut.

The Wookie yowled and leaped back as he turned and saw the two boys waving their lightsabers. Rosh glanced at Jaden. "Uhh, you speak that language?"

"A bit..." Jaden said, relaxing and deactivating his lightsaber. "It's fine, Rosh. So...you're Chewbacca?"

The Wookie roared again and waved his hand around. Jaden looked at Rosh and blinked. "Jedi? Us? No, not yet. We're Kyle Katarn's students. He mentioned something about you before."

"I feel so left out." Rosh muttered, only half joking, as he also inactivated his lightsaber. "What's he doing here?"

Chewbacca may not have spoken Basic, but he understood it well. He growled something to Jaden, whose eyes widened. "Leia Organa? Wow. Must be pretty important business."

"Uhh, are you going to fill me in on what he said?" Rosh asked, tapping Jaden on the shoulder. "I'm a little lost here."

"He's investigating a mercenary threat." Jaden said. "Maybe it has something to do with the Cult..."

"In that case, we should go with him!" Rosh said immediately.

"Master Kat- I mean, Kyle said to stay here." Jaden stared at the cantina door as if expecting Kyle to emerge any second now and berate them for not standing guard.

"Yeah, yeah, but isn't this more important?" Rosh pointed out. "We could uncover important information about the Cult!"

Chewbacca seemed to agree. Jaden frowned. "Well...okay, but don't blame me if Kyle gets mad at us."

"You need to loosen up a bit, Jaden." Rosh snorted, slinging an arm around his friend and pulling him after Chewbacca. "Come on, it'll be fun. And it's not like Kyle can't take care of himself."

* * *

**Tatooine- Mos Eisley: Docking Bay**

"Heh. Free target practice."

Jaden swung around at the voice coming from his left, then flinched back as a blaster bolt flew past his face. Chewbacca was already running out into the middle of the docking bay, firing his bowcaster at two Rodians emerging from behind a stack of crates. Closing his eyes for a moment, Jaden tuned in his Force Sense, then opened his eyes – he could see the sketchy red figures of several humanoids crouching in various places around the bay.

Lightsaber in hand, he ran forward and made quick work of the one who'd shot at him, then turned to find Rosh and Chewbacca finishing off the rest.

"The good thing about lightsabers is they leave no mess." Rosh said appreciatively as he slipped his weapon back into his tunic. "Imagine if we got blood all over us. Kyle would throw a fit."

That was when Jaden glanced down at his kill, and immediately wished he hadn't. The guy – a human – was covered in streaked burn marks from the lightsaber. There was a smell rather like cooked meat wafting from him.

"Fierfek..." Jaden swallowed hard. "I, uh..."

"Are you okay?" Rosh asked, bounding to his side and grabbing his arm. "You just went all pale." he looked down at the body. "Ahh...first kill, right?"

"It was different with the Howlers." Jaden said softly. "And the stormtroopers and Dark Jedi..."

Chewbacca growled something about 'kill or be killed'.

"You'll get used to it." Rosh commented. "Do you need to sit down?"

"No. I'm not about to faint or anything." Jaden said. "But it's not something I plan on getting used to. You can't just kill someone and not care about it."

"You can't? But I just did." Rosh mused. "I mean, he might have a family and all, but... he chose to be a mercenary. He knew the danger. And he wouldn't have thought twice about shooting you."

"I guess you're right." Jaden said. "So...let's just move on."

He still couldn't stop thinking about it. Was it alright to just 'not care', the way Rosh and Kyle seemed to? It seemed rather callous. All the same, it was 'kill or be killed', as Chewbacca had said. They encountered more mercenaries in the storage room leading off the docking bay, and Jaden killed two without a murmur.

Leaving Rosh and Chewbacca to pick up their weapons (so stealing from corpses was appropriate all of a sudden? Jaden was confused) he headed into the adjoining corridor and froze as he heard voices.

"Is it just me, or are the Rodians kinda creepy?"

"Yeah. It's those weird antennae things."

"That and the snout."

"Yeah, what are those anyway?"

"On second thought, I'd rather not know."

Jaden leaned back into the doorframe and peered around the wall. Two mercenaries stood chatting with one another. He closed his eyes. Could he kill them? They sounded like everyday men – friends, gossiping about something or other, just like Rosh and himself. Caught off guard, neither of them was expecting to die.

_Killing is part of being a Jedi, is it?  
_

_Is this right?  
_

Suddenly Rosh was running past him, lightsaber flashing – and the two men were dead on the floor because Jaden could even blink.

Rosh turned back and looked at him. "Jaden? Are you sure you're alright? We can go back to the cantina if you want."

_Oh, so _now_ he asks if I want to go back_. Jaden thought rather sourly. _What can I say? That I don't want to do this anymore? That I'd rather not be a Jedi if it means doing this?_

_But do I really care? I don't know them. If they'd known I was there, they'd have killed me, no regrets. They're the enemy – if we don't kill them, they'll work to kill hundreds, if not thousands of people._

_One person dies to save many. That's good, isn't it?  
_

"Man, you zone out a lot." Rosh said, jerking Jaden out of his ethical musings. "If you want to go back, just say so."

"I'm fine." Jaden said. "Where's Chewbacca?"

The Wookie rumbled from the next room. Jaden followed Rosh and Chewbacca out into the cargo bay.

_Oh, lovely. More mercs. _Jaden threw his lightsaber at the Trandoshan with the heavy repeater who was firing at them from next to the doorway. It made a gurgling sound as it collapsed.

_Better not to think about it- _he jumped back as a shot rang by his ear. A Rodian with a sniper attachment, crouching behind a pile of boxes. Jaden used the Force to pull the Rodian towards him, then slashed down with his lightsaber, dropping the body in a pile on top of the Trandoshan.

A loud _whoosh_-ing sound made them all look up. There were four bays, arranged in a square next to one another – three docking and one cargo, two of which contained the Raven's Claw and the Millennium Falcon. As they watched, tractor beams shone down from the control tower in the centre of the bays, holding the two ships stationary.

Chewbacca yowled, and Rosh turned to Jaden. "Hey, who turned that on? We can't leave unless that gets turned off-"

He broke off as an explosion rocked the bay. Both boys were thrown back into a small alcove behind a stack of crates. Jaden cringed as Rosh landed on top of him, elbow digging into his stomach. "What was that?"

Rosh groaned in response. Jaden struggled out from under him. "Rosh? Are you okay?"

"Aah. No." Rosh moaned, sitting up and then falling back again. "My back _really_ hurts. Oh, the pain."

Jaden frowned. Maybe Rosh was being overly dramatic, but he didn't seem able to get up. "Wait here, one sec."

He wandered towards the entrance to the alcove and flinched back as a thermal detonator flew towards him. Quickly he raised his hand and Force-pushed it to the other side of the bay, where it detonated in a small explosion. Looking up, he saw a Gran at the top of the wall, another detonator in hand. As he watched, Chewbacca raised his bowcaster and put a round through him.

Jaden turned back to Rosh, who was lying with his eyes closed. "Rosh? I don't have a medpac."

"Go on without me!" Rosh said weakly.

Jaden frowned. "Are you kidding? Kyle would kill me."

"Did you just make a joke?" Rosh opened his eyes and stared. "I can't believe it! Serious, quiet, Jaden Korr making a _joke_ while his friend lies dying-"

"Oh, come off it." Jaden said. "I could try use the Force to heal you..." that was one thing Kyle had taught them, at least. Force-heal and Force-protect, both of which took up a lot of energy, but were very useful in tight situations.

Rosh blinked. "I could try it myself-"

"He said it's better if an un-injured person does it. The casualty tends to make mistakes." Jaden knelt next to Rosh and put his hands on his back. "Uhh...hang on." he closed his eyes and concentrated the way Kyle had shown them. It was rather complicated.

_Wow, this is just a really great first mission, isn't it? _Sarcasm was a blessed relief in stressful situations. _I've already killed about five people, and now Rosh is injured. Brilliant._

"Jaden? I feel fine now." Rosh was pushing him away with one hand as he sat up. "Uhh, thanks!" he got up and twisted around experimentally. "Yeah. I'm all cured!"

Jaden got up and swayed, suddenly overcome with fatigue. It cleared after a moment, but he still felt drained. Healing really did take it out of you.

Chewbacca had gone through into the next corridor, and had dealt with the mercenaries lurking inside. Rosh and Jaden quickly caught up, and emerged into the docking bay containing the Raven's Claw. Jaden looked up at control tower. "We'd better get up there and disable the tractor beams."

As they turned into the next corridor, a door suddenly burst open, and several mercenaries rushed out, opening fire. Caught by surprise, the three ducked under cover behind the Raven's Claw. Rosh yanked out his lightsaber and started towards the attackers, but Jaden grabbed the back of his tunic and hauled him back. "If we run, we can make it to the door."

"It would be easier just to fight them-" Rosh broke off as a thermal detonator bounced towards them, and quickly Force-pushed it away. "Okay. On three? Ready? THREE!" he dashed out towards the doorway. Jaden blinked, then quickly followed.

The two of them made it through the door just as one of the mercenaries fired a shot at the explosives near the door, causing a great explosion.

When Jaden got to his feet and looked up, the doorway was blocked off with rubble. Quickly using Force Sense, he saw Chewbacca on the other side, firing at the mercenaries from behind the Raven's Claw.

"Okay! Onward we go, then." Rosh said, waving his lightsaber. "Come on, Jaden. Can't stand here all day." They continued through the corridor and into the next room. There were crates piled in front of them, with trip mines in between. Jaden found a convenient gap with no trip mines, so they went through.

More mercenaries, which they made quick work of. They moved into the stairwell, and a thermal detonator bounced down the stairs towards them, catching them by surprise.

"Get back." Rosh yanked Jaden back against the wall, and the grenade detonated, barely missing them. "Okay." they dashed up the stairs before the Gran had a chance to throw a second grenade, and quickly disposed of him. Moving through the next room, they encountered _even more_ mercenaries.

"Geez. It's like every time we kill one, two more come." Rosh commented as he kicked aside the body of a Rodian. The two boys were on top of the wall beside the docking bay containing the Millennium Falcon. "You getting used to it yet?"

"What? Killing people? No." Jaden said.

"Hmm." Rosh said, and they went through into elevator, emerging into the control tower. Jaden quickly located the lever that deactivated the tractor beam. "That's it for the Falcon. Now for the Raven's Claw."

"In this room." Rosh opened the door to the adjoining control tower. "Whoahh."

"What is it?" Jaden came up next to him. In the next control room, a dark Jedi was activating his lightsaber.

"War ha ha ha!" he chortled. The two boys glanced at one another, then lunged at him. Rosh was sent flying backwards almost instantly, and hit the wall, winded. Jaden ferociously attacked the man, who just kept blocking him.

Rosh jumped back to his feet and attacked. The Sith whirled around and raised his hand in the Force-grip position. Jaden felt his feet lifting off the ground and a tightness in his chest as he choked.

Suddenly the pressure vanished, and he dropped back to the ground, landing on his knees. Rosh was standing over the fallen Sith, who had crumpled facedown, a dark burn across his body slowly fading. Rosh turned around. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Jaden coughed, then got up and disabled the tractor beam. "We'd better get back down and meet up with Chewbacca."

"Yup!" Rosh said, following him back into the elevator. "I wonder what that guy was doing there. Maybe the Cult of Ragnos is in league with the mercenaries?"

"I'm not sure." Jaden replied. They emerged into the docking bay containing the Millennium Falcon again, and Chewbacca ran up to them, yowling. More mercenaries were concealed in places around the bay.

"These guys just won't quit!" Rosh yelled, pulling out his lightsaber with a sigh. A shower of blaster fire rained down on them, and they ducked under the edge of the Falcon for cover.

As the last mercenary dropped dead, Kyle stepped out of the stairwell and picked his way over the body. "Oh...did I miss something?"

They emerged from beneath the ship, and Chewbacca raised a paw and roared. Kyle grinned. "Good to see you too, Chewie." he glanced at the bodies scattered around the bay. "Guess those mercs didn't want us here."

The Wookie roared again, then grabbed Jaden and hugged him close, ruffling his hair with one paw. Rosh laughed loudly as Jaden spluttered, then staggered free, brushing himself down.

"That's high praise, coming from a Wookie." Kyle chuckled.

Jaden blinked. "Thanks...I think. If he hadn't been here...we would've been in trouble."

"The way he tells it, you two held your own." Kyle said, beaming.

"These mercs aren't cheap." Kyle continued. "Someone in this cult must have a lot of credits. Or worse, they're backed by the Remnant. Listen, we've gotta get back to Luke and tell him what's going on. Can you tell Leia about the cult?"

Chewbacca nodded and yowled again, then lumbered off. Kyle watched him leave, then turned to his students. "Nice work Jaden, Rosh."

"Sorry we disobeyed you...Kyle." Jaden muttered. Rosh elbowed him. "He was just _praising us_, Jaden."

"It's fine." Kyle said. "We should get back to the academy, now..."

* * *

**Yavin IV- Jedi Academy: Dormitories**

Jaden threw his towel, and missed, again. He always missed. It was becoming routine. After hanging it up properly, he slumped down on his bed, exhausted. They had just arrived back from Tatooine, to find most of the other students off on their first or second missions.

Rosh sauntered into the room and flopped down on his own bed. "Tired?"

"Yes, hence why I'm lying here not moving." Jaden said, turning his head slowly to look at Rosh. "How's your back?"

"Fine, actually." Rosh answered, folding his arms behind his head. "When do you think we'll go on another mission?"

"Dunno." Jaden mumbled, not particularly caring. He didn't want to think about missions right now, being tired, bruised and rather cold. "Darn heating, or lack thereof."

Rosh looked over at him and laughed. "Get under the covers, if you're cold, instead of lying on top of them."

"Fine, I will." Jaden said, doing just that. "Goodnight."

"Eh? You're going to sleep?"

"Well, why not?"

"You haven't eaten yet. What if you die of starvation?" Rosh asked. Jaden opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "I won't die of starvation just from skipping one meal."

"You never know." Rosh said ominously. Jaden 'hmmph'-ed and pulled the bedclothes over his head.

At that moment, Garth entered the room, with Raltharan in tow. "Hey Rosh. Who's that lump under the covers?"

"That's Jaden." Rosh said, waving. "Did you guys just finish your first mission?"

"Nah, we got back yesterday." Garth said, sitting on Jaden's bed and ignoring the muffled protests from under the sheets. "We've just been wandering around in the jungle. Slaying Howlers. Where did you guys go?"

"Tatooine." Rosh said. "Killing mercenaries."

"Sounds like fun..." Raltharan said, sitting down cross-legged on the floor. "Did Master Katarn say anything about your progress?"

"Uhh, 'nice work'?" Rosh supplied. "Where did you two go?"

"Coruscant." Gareth said. "Such fun, no? I bet Tatooine was fun. Did you guys get sunburned?"

"Umm, no." Jaden said, emerging from his blankets. "And it wasn't that exciting."

"Jaden never gets excited, about anything." Rosh mused. "Why is that, I wonder?"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." Jaden ordered. "Anyway... anyone know where the other students are?"

"Netra and Racin are on Kril'dor. Leonne's on Nar Kreeta." Raltharan said. "I'm not sure about the others." The Zabrak got up and paced the room. "How are you guys finding the Force?"

"Push and pull are good. And sense." Rosh commented. "Speed...I need to work on."

"It still makes me dizzy." Jaden complained. Garth nodded. "I don't like sense. I keep walking into walls when I use it. And now I'm hungry, so I'm going to the mess." he got up and walked out.

Raltharan also got to her feet. "I guess I'll go with him. See you two around."

"Uhh...bye!" Rosh called after the Zabrak. "Wasn't that fun..."

* * *

**Note: Garth is that random guy in grey who has a few lines in cutscenes. He was never named, and I was gonna call him Gareth, only my spell check turned it into 'Garth', and then I realized it rhymed with Carth... um, yeah.**

**Forgive OOC-ness. It starts moving away from the game's plotline in the next few chapterrrs...**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated, as is constructive criticism. Thank you for reading, if you did =)  
**


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